The 2000 Neighborhood Cleanup program (NCU) is being handled differently by the County of Sacramento. In the past, "doorhangers" were placed on each property, notifying the resident of the NCU date and providing "rules" for using the NCU. This year, the notice was mailed to the property. It is well written and contains much more information. The notice is signed by Rich Owings, whose name is misspelled right under his signature!

Last year the illegal dumping started on my property a full week before the scheduled pickup date. This year, on October 7, only two days before the scheduled pickup, all that has been dumped on my property is a dead tree branch. Perhaps the "doorhangers" of the past were really "invitations to illegally dump?" Time will tell if the new procedure has an effect, and if that effect lasts for more than a year.

The NCU is over. Nothing more than the tree branch was dumped on my property, and that was picked up. I note, however, that this year, at least on the two days I observed, the County is using a two-man crew. One drives the tractor, and the other drives the truck. Last year there were more personnel, who swept up after the big pieces were picked up. This year, sweeping up glass shards and small debris was left to the residents! This seems strange, given the concern that the County has shown in past years for picking up every last remnant.
 

To: Rio Linda Elverta Mailing list, cc: Supervisor Dickinson

Maybe the County finally is doing it right? I hope so! (Hooray!)

Check out these pictures I took today at 2nd & Withington. Note the yellow "police tape" and the official-looking signs.

I don't know who is doing this, but it certainly makes sense.

Neighborhood Cleanup pickup begins Monday on 2nd Street, so the timing is right.

I saw a similar situation today on Q street, but the signs were in faded red ink and said "Illegal Dumping". The police tape looked the same, however.

Jay O'Brien
 
 

What is really interesting is that this pile of trash was completely gone on Sunday, October 8th!

As the scheduled trash pickup is for Monday, October 9th, many residents were placing trash out for pickup. However, this pile, which was placed out before the suggested time, was removed BEFORE the scheduled trash pickup!  The County mailer announcing Neighborhood Cleanup says "Place materials out for pickup no sooner than the weekend before the date listed on the address panel..."

-----Original Message-----
From: Jay O'Brien [mailto:jayobrien@att.net]
Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 10:14 AM
To: Dan Regan
Subject: NCU question

Hi Dan,

Do you know what the mechanism is that results in the yellow tape and signs put on dumping piles? It's great, and whomever is doing it should get positive feedback. See the links below to see what I'm talking about.

Regards,

Jay
 

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: NCU question
Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2000 10:53:47 -0700
From: "Regan, Dan  (PWA)"
To: 'Jay O'Brien' <jayobrien@att.net>

We are not sure, but I will check with other County agencies to see if it is something we did. This sign may have been posted by a resident.

DR
 
 

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [RL] Neighborhood Cleanup
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 20:13:46 -0700
From: Jan O'Brien <k6hhd@att.net>
Reply-To: riolinda@vrx.net
To: Rio Linda <riolinda@vrx.net>

 An interesting observation today makes me think that the county is really making a valiant effort to make this program work.

 From my upstairs bedroom window I observed some scavengers checking out a pile in front of a neighbor's place. A county employee in a white pickup happened by, stopped and obviously explained that what they were doing is a no no. I have no way of knowing what transpired during the conversation, however they did leave right away. But not without an ironing board which one of them had picked up from the pile and held onto during the conversation. As they drove away the fellow in the pickup did follow after them, possibly to convince them not to just continue on to the next pile and sort through it.

 So far we have not had anyone dump anything on our property, with the exception of one rather large tree branch. It is definitely an improvement over past years.

Jan

-----Original Message-----
From: Jay O'Brien [mailto:jayobrien@att.net]
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2000 11:36 PM
To: Dan Regan
Cc: Roger Dickinson; Jan O'Brien
Subject: [Fwd: [RL] Neighborhood Cleanup]
 

Dan,

I thought you would enjoy seeing this message my wife posted to our Rio Linda email list. I share her enthusiasm for your efforts!

I'm holding my breath waiting for the pickup (it was scheduled for Monday), hoping nothing more gets dumped here. But, the scavengers are very active; when they find something that appeals to them, they jettison previously scavenged cargo. So far, nothing has attracted them to my property, so nothing dumped by them.

By the way, did you see the Bee article on Roseville's efforts? It certainly seems attractive, as it makes things VERY difficult for scavengers, avoids scattering across the street, and makes pickup a snap. http://www.sacbee.com/news/news/local07_20001009.html

By the way, the trash with the yellow tape was picked up over the weekend. Have you identified who is taping and tagging? Perhaps you could ask about the pickup, as maybe the agency called for  solid waste to remove the trash. It was picked up Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Regards,

Jay
 

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: [Fwd: [RL] Neighborhood Cleanup]
Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2000 14:34:58 -0700
From: "Regan, Dan  (PWA)"
To: 'Jay O'Brien' <jayobrien@att.net>

I still have not received a reply concerning who put the tape on the pile. It's great to see that the situation is improving.  As for the Roseville effort it will be interesting to see what occurs.  Hopefully, this system will not lead to even more illegal dumping.

Dan Regan
 
 
 

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [Fwd: [RL] Neighborhood Cleanup]
Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2000 14:46:48 -0700
From: Jay O'Brien <jayobrien@att.net>
To: "Regan, Dan (PWA)"

Interesting!

Will you or someone from Solid Waste be at Supervisor Dickinson's meeting at the Rio Linda Community Center on Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:30 PM?

I have a question for someone.... I'll ask at Roger's meeting..

There is a County vehicle which has a mower blade that mows the grass in the road shoulder area between the pavement and the drainage ditch. It usually comes to Rio Linda once a year. Why is it here now, when the piles of trash await the Neighborhood Cleanup Program? The mower must avoid the trash, which slows down the mower and causes much grass to not be mowed, under and beyond the trash. It seems to me that the mower operator should not be sent to areas where NCU is in progress, and that IF such happens, the mower operator should report the conflict and effect rescheduling so as to avoid NCU.  Or maybe the NCU should be rescheduled to avoid the mowing operation? Do these County operations communicate?

Jay